An ‘Empty-The-Fridge’ Easy Fried Rice Recipe

When my husband, Jimmy, and I went out to eat before we had children, he wanted Asian foods but I craved something different and exotic. Thai food was often a favorite choice because it seemed familiar and exotic at the same time. I will always remember the first time we ordered Khao Pad Sapparot, a pineapple fried rice with our choice of pork, chicken, or shrimp. The fried rice was served in a carved pineapple bowl, complete with the leafy crown. It was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, with mouthwatering bite sized morsels of vegetables and chicken, savory with a little bit of sweet and sour flavors from the pineapple.

We haven’t been to a Thai restaurant in many years due to our children’s severe allergies because we don’t want them to accidentally have any cross contact with nuts or nut products. So I decided to try and make my own Khao Pad Sapparot-inspired version that is allergy friendly. I just happened to have the right ingredients to make Pineapple Fried Rice in an allergy friendly way: leftover rice, broiled chicken teriyaki thighs, and cut fresh pineapple.

A more traditional recipe might contain eggs, shrimp, cashews, fish sauce, and some spices that would take some effort to determine are allergen free. This simple recipe can be completely free of the top 8 allergens by substituting soy sauce and fish sauce with other soy sauce alternatives.